I’ve been thinking about how to make my current anthology project as awesome as it can be. For one thing, I’ve noticed that a number of submissions are by relatively new authors who show a lot of talent, but maybe could use some feedback. The other thing is that I’m trying to figure out attractive swag for the Kickstarter project that we are going to have in a month or two.

Here’s an idea I wanted to run by people: what if authors could pledge, say, $50 to the Kickstarter in exchange for getting a one-page high-level developmental critique of their submission, and the chance to resubmit (as well as the smaller-dollar backer rewards, such as book copies)?

On the positive side, most of that money is going right back to the chosen authors, so it’s a kind of “pay it forward” thing. Plus, it lets new authors improve their writing, which is always a good thing.

I’m worried, though, that people might see it as “pay-for-play,” meaning that the donation would become a stealth entry fee, or that people who donate would have a leg up over those who don’t. That’s absolutely not the case—I want the strongest stories in my anthology, not the ones who pay me a few bucks—but it is true that the chance to get feedback from the editor would make it easier to improve your story to my taste. And I don’t want people to be turned off, or to think that this is a scam.

So I’m asking you. Do you think that this would be appropriate? Or would you feel like this is a scam, or be otherwise turned off? Would you yourself be interested in a critique? How much would you be willing to pay for one? (Bear in mind that most critique services charge much more than $50 for a 20-page manuscript.)

Let me know in the comments. And if this is something you are interested in, be sure to sign up for my mailing list to be notified when the Kickstarter goes live, so you can order your critique.

Thank you for your feedback. It helps me better understand people’s expectations and where I am unclear.

I am not a professional critiquer, so by “one page” I was meaning something more like “a high-level conceptual critique, rather than a line-by-line copyedit.” I will edit the post accordingly.

I also meant not paying $50 for a critique alone, but pledging at the $50 level, which would provide access to the lower-dollar tiers as well—chiefly, electronic and physical copies of the anthology. On Kickstarter, it is quite common for pledge rewards to be “valued” at somewhat higher than their street price, for example a pledge of $20 for a physical book copy; it is understood that you are not merely buying a book, but serving as a patron to a project you want to succeed.

Critiques are useful, and a good reward for writing-related crowdfunding projects, but it’s very questionable when employed in this manner.
It might make people think buying a critique made acceptance more likely.
At worst, it’s charging writers $50 to submit a story. I would be very wary of doing this, no matter how ethically you try to employ it.
Best of luck with the anthology, but I would only offer critiques for stories as rewards given after it is funded. There will always be stories in need of critiques.